Scapophyllia, MILNE EDWARDS & HAIME, 1848

Huang, Danwei, Benzoni, Francesca, Fukami, Hironobu, Knowlton, Nancy, Smith, Nathan D. & Budd, Ann F., 2014, Taxonomic classification of the reef coral families Merulinidae, Montastraeidae, and Diploastraeidae (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Scleractinia), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 171 (2), pp. 277-355 : 339-340

GENUS SCAPOPHYLLIA MILNE EDWARDS & HAIME, 1848 A: 492 ( FIG. 25 )

Type species

Scapophyllia cylindrica Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849a, vol. 11: 278, vol. 10, pl. 8: figs 8, 8a; subsequent designation, Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849a, vol. 11: 278.

Original description

‘Polypier cylindrique, dressé et composé de séries intimement unies par les murailles. Columelle tuberculeuse. Cloisons extrêmement épaisses et fortement granulées.’ ( Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848a, vol. 27: 492).

Subsequent descriptions

Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849a, vol. 11: 277, 278; Milne Edwards & Haime, 1857, vol. 2: 386; Quenstedt, 1881: 1011; Duncan, 1884: 95; Delage & Hérouard, 1901: 627; Matthai, 1928: 259; Yabe et al., 1936: 42; Vaughan & Wells, 1943: 191; Alloiteau, 1952: 632; Wells, 1956: F416; Chevalier, 1975: 226; Veron & Pichon, 1980: 228, 229; Wood, 1983: 190, 191; Veron, 1986: 440; Chevalier & Beauvais, 1987: 721; Veron & Hodgson, 1989: 269; Sheppard, 1990: 14; Best & Suharsono, 1991: 334; Veron, 2000, vol. 2: 383.

Diagnosis

Colonial, with intracalicular budding only. Corallites monomorphic and uniserial; monticules absent. Walls fused. Calice width small (4 mm), with low relief (3 mm). Costosepta confluent. Septa in three cycles (24–36 septa). Free septa present but irregular. Septa spaced six to 11 septa per 5 mm. Costosepta equal in relative thickness. Columellae trabecular but compact (one to three threads), 1/4 of calice width, and continuous amongst adjacent corallites. Paliform (uniaxial) lobes well developed. Epitheca absent and endotheca sparse ( Fig. 25A, D ).

Tooth base at midcalice circular. Tooth tip at midcalice irregular; tip orientation perpendicular to septum. Tooth height low (<0.3 mm) and tooth spacing narrow (<0.3 mm), with> six teeth per septum. Granules scattered on septal face; irregular in shape. Interarea palisade ( Fig. 25B, E ).

Walls formed by strong abortive septa and partial septotheca; trabeculothecal elements may be present. Thickening deposits fibrous. Costa centre clusters weak; <0.3 mm between clusters; medial lines weak. Septum centre clusters weak; <0.3 mm between clusters; medial lines weak. Transverse crosses absent. Columella centres clustered ( Fig. 25C, F ).

Species included

Scapophyllia cylindrica Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849a, vol. 11: 278, vol. 10, pl. 8: figs 8, 8a; holotype: MNHN IK-2010-715 (dry specimen; Fig. 25A, D ); type locality: ‘les mers de la Chine?’ ( Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849a, vol. 11: 278); phylogenetic data: molecular and morphology.

Taxonomic remarks

Scapophyllia Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848a , vol. 27: 492, is a monotypic genus that is often regarded as a close relative of Merulina . Their taxonomic histories have overlapped substantially, being placed together in Merulinidae for the most part (e.g. Vaughan & Wells, 1943: 190; Wells, 1956: F416; Veron, 2000, vol. 2: 363). It has been described as another genus only once, not surprisingly as a Merulina – Merulina studeri Bedot, 1907: 214 , pl. 31: figs 156, 160. Molecular phylogenies demonstrate this affiliation, with these two genera forming a well-supported clade (subclade A) along with some Goniastrea spp. ( Fukami et al., 2008; Huang et al., 2011).

Scapophyllia is distributed on reefs of the Central Indo-Pacific, and along the coasts of India and Sri Lanka.

Morphological remarks

No apomorphies have been uncovered for Scapophyllia as yet. It shares all but one morphological character with Merulina , and they are distinguishable based on septal count – Scapophyllia with the plesiomorphy of septa in three cycles (24–36 septa), and fewer for Merulina . Loss of epitheca (likelihood of 0.66 based on the Mk1 model) and sparse endotheca (likelihood 0.67) occur at the base of the Merulina + Scapophyllia clade, setting Goniastrea apart from them. All subcorallite characters are shared with most of Goniastrea .

Figures

Figure 25. Scapophyllia Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848a, has uniserial corallites, fused walls, small (<4 mm) and lowrelief (<3 mm) calices, compact columellae, well-developed paliform (uniaxial) lobes, and sparse endotheca. Septal teeth are low (<0.3 mm) and narrowly spaced (<0.3 mm). Walls formed by strong abortive septa and partial septotheca. A–F, Scapophyllia cylindrica Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849a, the type and only living species of Scapophyllia; macromorphology, holotype MNHN IK-2010-715, unknown locality (A, D); micromorphology (scanning electron microscopy; B, E) and microstructure (transverse thin section; C, F), hypotype USNM 89934, Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands.